Evil is a Label
by Sandileina
Summary: Yukimura Seiichi doesn’t know just how far he’ll have to go in the name of demon hunter when he comes across a sadistic Vampire with several hidden agendas...
1. The Prequel's prequel

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **Kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai both hinted and clear later on… Check back here each chapter!

**Summary: **Yukimura Seiichi doesn't know just how far he'll have to go in the name of demon hunter when he comes across a sadistic Vampire shrouded in enigma.

-.-; … God, I suck at summaries.

**Author's notes: **Well, a week or two ago I came up with a ridiculously complicated plot which I tried to do, before realising that it wouldn't be very good unless there was a prequel-type thing that lets you know more about the characters and what happened beforehand. So here's my prequel concerning two of the characters: Yukimura Seiichi and one of my favourite characters. You'll see who later. I promise it'll get better as it goes on… I'm not all that good at atmospheric stuff and tend to try too hard -.-; so I apologise in advance for that. I'm not that experienced with this writing style. Please bear with me :)

Dedicated to **Linc**, who is wonderful and whom I love. ;D

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There were really only three things that Yukimura Seiichi could honestly say he hated. One was the remnants of the demons that still roamed the world. They were probably the things he hated with the strongest passion.

The second was fire. At five years of age, Seiichi had been forced to watch his parents burn slowly to death in their family's orchard. The experience had left him completely mute for the better part of two years, but he'd been born with the preordained gifts of the demon hunter and had one of the strongest minds and will in the entire human race. He recovered, and dedicated his young life to destroying the evils of the world. The third… well, he never talked about it.

His aunt and uncle watched sadly over him as their beloved nephew trained his childhood away. They didn't interfere, but it was always obvious that they weren't happy with the way he forced himself to grow up far faster than a child ever should.

On his sixteenth birthday, he left the small town of Kurokuma and began to travel the world alone. He promised his aunt, uncle and younger sister Yuriko that he'd come back every few months, but now, two and a half years later, he never had.

Yukimura abandoned his given name, Seiichi, and carried his family name with pride. The dark creatures of the world all knew the name of Yukimura, and left everyone with that name well alone.

Now, it was late autumn. The past he'd left behind him was currently the furthest thing from Yukimura's mind as he crouched motionless in the shadow of a tree.

Next to him was a nervous, fidgeting figure. He was looking anxiously about him and licking his lips. Shifting closer to the demon hunter, he whispered, "Can I go now, please? You don't need me here, right? I'll probably just get in the way…"

Yukimura didn't answer. The man's shoulders slumped resignedly and he stayed where he was.

They stayed like that for a good three minutes in almost total silence.

Suddenly, startling the poor man next to him, Yukimura stood up. He tucked his hands inside his pockets to warm them up, and looked thoughtfully through the dark trees ahead of them. "I think that's enough for tonight," he said quietly. "Thank you for your help, Arai-san."

"Oh, um… that's it?" Arai scrambled upright thankfully.

"For tonight. I'll come back tomorrow. Don't worry, Arai-san, I can remember the way."

Arai looked pitifully relieved, and Yukimura cast him an amused glance before turning and walking back towards the dim lights of the village in the distance.

Trying not to make too much noise, Arai followed behind. He looked admiringly at the silhouette of the demon hunter, wishing he knew more about him.

Yukimura had arrived at the village by the forests two days ago. He'd been dressed in the clothes he wore now – a plain brown traveller's cloak that covered a dark shirt and trousers which matched his hair in colour. His boots had been caked in mud and leaves; he told the inquisitive children that he'd been walking through the rainstorm that had happened the day before.

He'd been very polite, calling everyone, even the children, 'san' and thanking people for the least things. He was almost too well-mannered, especially considering the slight accent in his voice that told them that he came from the crude Southern towns.

Arai had been very wary of him at first. It was his eyes – they were disturbingly sharp, with a cool quality that never changed, even when he smiled. But over the couple of days, Arai had finally worked up the nerve to ask him how he came to be here.

"I'm a demon hunter," Yukimura had said mildly, which wasn't really a surprise. Most of the small village had seen the peculiar-looking weaponry and items that he carried with him, and come to their own conclusions. "I'm hunting a Vampire that was supposed to have come this way."

"There's a Vampire in the woods," chipped in one of the villagers. "Arai saw it last week, didn't you?"

"Oh, did I? Well, yes, I did, but… I mean… I don't really know if it was a Vampire or not. It _looked_ like a Vampire, but…"

Yukimura saved him from any further embarrassment. "I'll look into it for you. Might kill two birds with one stone, hmm? Whereabouts did you see it?"

"I'll show you," Arai promised rashly, grateful to be not so much in an uncomfortable spotlight.

He'd kept his promise, however much he wished he hadn't made it in the first place. They'd been crouching in silence for several hours, ever since dusk, apparently watching or waiting for something.

Likewise, the journey back to Arai's village was carried out in silence. Yukimura had that thoughtful look on his face, and Arai didn't dare interrupt whatever he might be thinking.

They arrived back at the village half an hour later, and after wishing Arai a polite 'goodnight', Yukimura headed towards the Elder's house, where he was staying.

"Ah, Yukimura-san," the Elder greeted him from his chair by the fireplace. "Did you have a productive night?"

"Very," Yukimura answered, smiling. He liked the Elder, with his intelligent smile and his kind face. "I'll be going back tomorrow night too, and possibly the night after if I need to. I'm sorry to inconvenience you for that long, but…"

"Oh, no, no," the Elder said firmly, waving a hand. "No inconvenience at all. In fact, it's good to have someone staying in my son's room again. You know, he was about your age when he died. How old are you? Nineteen?"

"Eighteen and a half, sir," Yukimura nodded.

"Ah, yes." A wistful look crossed the Elder's face. Yukimura watched it in silence for a moment, then gave a small bow.

"If you'll excuse me, sir, I'd like to retire now."

"Hmm? Oh, of course. Goodnight. I'm sure our village feels safer now that we have you staying with us," nodded the Elder. Yukimura smiled and headed for the little flight of stone steps.

The night had indeed been very useful. During the entire time he and Arai had been in the forest, Yukimura hadn't heard a single sound from birds or animals living in the forest. Only a Vampire or some sort of devastating epidemic would cause every single one of them to move away. There were a couple of demons that Yukimura could think of which might have the same effect, but as far as he knew, they were dead. One of them definitely was, anyway; Yukimura had killed it himself.

With a sigh, the demon hunter unloaded the majority of the weapons he'd had concealed about his person, keeping just a dagger in a spring-loaded sheath hidden on his left forearm and a small wooden charm looped around his right wrist. He flexed his shoulders with a slight wince.

"That'll hurt in the morning," he muttered resignedly. They ached from staying in the same, slightly hunched position during the time in the forest.

Well, it couldn't be helped. If you were going to rid the world of evil incarnate, then you could expect a good few aches and pains from time to time.

Some movement on the ground outside his window caught Yukimura's eye. Curious, he walked over to the grubby window, peering through it.

Below, there were several people, a family by the looks of it, each carrying a basket of grass and various plants. Yukimura guessed that they were for the goats and pigs kept penned on the other side of the village. He watched the family until they rounded a building and disappeared from sight, then lowered his gaze to the windowsill he was leaning on. Someone watching him would have seen a somewhat regretful, lonely look linger on his features.

Slowly, he went back to the little bed and knelt beside it, bowing his head for the prayers he did every night.

"These are good people," he whispered. "They're honest and hardworking. I won't let the monster in the forest hurt any of them. I promise.

"May my village stay safe and well. Please watch over Yuriko and my aunt and uncle. Please let them know how sorry I am that I can't go back to them until every single dark creature has been eradicated. And may okaasan and otousan be happy in the world after death."

Prayers finished, he rose and took of his cloak, shirt and boots. He generally just slept in his trousers, with the dagger sheath and the charm.

Yawning a little, he pulled the blankets over himself and lay on his back, blinking at the ceiling before closing his eyes and drifting into the arms of sleep. He could hardly wait for tomorrow night – he hadn't managed to kill any demons or Vampires in the last month and was looking forward to the prospect of getting one within the next couple of days.

Of course, even demon hunters need a good night's sleep if they wanted to be productive.

"G'night…" he murmured sleepily to the world in general, before truly falling asleep.

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You should know most of these, but of course not everyone does, so I'm putting some of the Japanese words up here in case you're not sure what they mean.

Okaasan: Mother

Otousan: Father

San: Honorific generally given to people older/higher in status than yourself.

Kurokuma: Black bear

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Sandy: Eh. Hmm. Well. Experimenting with different writing styles didn't turn out as good as I thought it might… Like I said, you'll have to bear with me. Sorry!

Also, I know this chapter isn't very long. With any luck, they'll get a bit longer! But only if I have the inspiration –blatant hinting and begging for reviews-

-Becomes even more obvious- Please review! Long, rambly reviews always rock my world, but even just a few words is good. And constructive criticism/honesty is always, always appreciated, as are suggestions and questions! Thanks, see you next chapter+.+


	2. First Impressions

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **Kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai both hinted and clear later on, blood, some language… Check back here each chapter!

**Summary: **Yukimura Seiichi doesn't know just how far he'll have to go in the name of demon hunter when he comes across a sadistic Vampire shrouded in enigma.

-.-; … God, I suck at summaries.

**Author's notes: **Chapter two, my friends (one day early, my patched kitty!). Enjoy!

Thanks to: **Yoshikochan **and **HellRaiserAlchemist **for their reviews!

Dedicated to **Linc**, whom I love and adore.

**-------------------------------**

Something wasn't quite right.

Uneasy, the tall figure glanced around, scanning the shadows carefully. It couldn't see anything, and shut its eyes to sharpen its hearing, turning its head from side to side slowly.

Golden eyes snapped open and a feral grin crossed the figure's face. Someone was heading this way. Stealthily, for a human, but he could still hear it faintly, about a mile off. Excellent. He wouldn't have to hunt for some stringy little rabbit or whatever animals were still left in a three mile radius.

With footsteps that made absolutely no sound, the figure clambered nimbly up into the nearest tree, jumping silently to the next, and the next, travelling quickly towards the foolish human who'd dared to come here just after the sun had set.

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Indigo hair made black by the lack of light swayed gently with each step Yukimura took. He wasn't wearing his cloak, and a pair of swords, much shorter and thinner than katanas, were visible strapped to his back.

His eyes were alert and every sense was strained to its limit. He kept on hearing noises, but whenever he went in the direction of the sound he'd hear something else from another direction. It had been going on for over an hour now, and despite his store of patience Yukimura was starting to get a bit frustrated.

It was definitely a Vampire, at least. He could feel it in his blood.

'Stop playing and show yourself,' he growled internally, a second before it did.

The Vampire got the shock of his undead existence as he dropped from the tree directly above the human's head, expecting to stun him and feed while he was still alive, and instead ended up on the ground with a blade to his throat. And another to his chest. He hadn't even had time to feel surprised until it was over.

"Got you." There was a grim smile on Yukimura's face.

"… Woah. Heh, you're _fast_!" If anything, the Vampire looked pleased. "Nice reflexes. Nearly as good as a Vampire's, I'd say."

"I should hope so," Yukimura snorted. With a quick motion, he drove the blade into the Vampire's chest and pulled across the one at his throat. With a sickening sound blood burst out of the throat, splashing Yukimura's front liberally. The smell of the long-dead blood was horrendous and Yukimura grimaced, spitting to the side in an effort to get the taste out of his mouth where a few drops had gone in. He got up off the motionless corpse with a look of disgust and eyed it with some satisfaction. "I'd say just as good as a Vampire's actually," he mused aloud. "They're not _that_ much better than the average human, however much they seem to think they are." He turned his back on the corpse and pulled a cloth out of his bag, wetting it with some of the water from his waterskin and wiping his face and hands clean, then his blades. He sighed and plucked at his shirt. "Well, one Vampire down, about two hundred more to go," he muttered.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Blue, but I ain't down yet."

As soon as the first word had been said, Yukimura had spun around in alarm, but the rest of the sentence was allowed to be spoken as he stared in astonishment.

The blood-soaked body was slowly sitting up, dark crimson trickling down onto the ground. A lopsided grin appeared, showing two small fangs that almost seemed to gleam with a life of their own.

"Not that easy to kill," it gurgled, blood bubbling out of the throat wound as it spoke. "Try again."

Shoving aside his shock, Yukimura dashed sharply forward with a yell, swords both aimed above the neck.

With unbelievable speed, the Vampire stood and dodged to the side. Yukimura tried to spin around, but his muscles couldn't keep up with his reflexes and he was forced to drop the right-hand sword to keep from falling down completely. He didn't miss a beat though, and slashed at the Vampire's chest.

Laughing wildly, neck and chest healed up already, the creature easily avoided it and leapt around him, fangs bared as it went for the throat.

_Thud_. With a startled yelp, the Vampire came crashing down to the ground, thrashing and snarling furiously. Panting, Yukimura slowly stood up.

The Vampire was trapped, held fast in a wire net that was generally used on small demons. It would contract around its victim, making it almost impossible for them to stand or get free. Yukimura had sprung it from a deceptively small-looking pouch on his belt. It only came up to the bottom of the Vampire's ribs, but it was enough.

Panting as well, the Vampire stared up at the demon hunter incredulously. "Who the hell're you?" it demanded. "No human can react that fast!"

Yukimura stared back at the Vampire. If it _was_ a Vampire; he was starting to have doubts. It should be completely lifeless, but here it was. If it wasn't for the blood on both his and its clothes, he would have thought he'd never even scratched it. "Yukimura," he said finally.

The Vampire's eyes widened. He obviously recognised the name. "Oh, _fuck_."

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Orange flames danced on a small pile of sticks and branches. They were reflected in Yukimura's eyes as he gazed expressionlessly at the captured Vampire sitting on the opposite side of the fire.

The Vampire was leaning nonchalently against the tree trunk which he'd been propped against, eyes closed, looking totally relaxed. Probably to annoy me, Yukimura thought.

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly, breaking the silence that they'd been sitting in for the last twenty minutes.

The Vampire didn't move. "Why d'you want to know?"

He shrugged. "I don't like calling anyone by their species."

That made a single eye open. "Oh? Well there's a novelty."

Yukimura shrugged again. "So what's your name?"

"Why'm I not dead?" the Vampire countered.

The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down. Eventually, Yukimura relented with an annoyed sigh. "Because I can't kill you," he ground out. Certainly not through lack of trying. He'd stabbed the Vampire a total of eight times in various different ways and places before finally accepting that it wasn't working in the slightest.

"Ah. Thought not." The Vampire opened his other eye and sneered at him. That was all he seemed to want to say, and he went back to his pretense of rest.

Yukimura hadn't really expected to get a name anyway. He took in the Vampire's appearance slowly yet again. He was about the same height as Yukimura, and about the same build too, but he looked roughly twenty years old. His hair was very odd; it was a little shorter than his own, and at first Yukimura had thought it was white, or at least platinum blond. But now he could see another colour underneath it that was much darker, yet could only really be seen properly at the nape of his neck. The Vampire was dressed in a brick-red shirt with white lines around the sleeve ends and neckline, and unusually tight trousers made of black leather. There weren't many people, alive or otherwise, that could carry that off so well, especially with such unusual hair.

"Saeki Kojiroh."

The abrupt words startled Yukimura slightly and it took a second for him to register them. That was the problem with having to stay so alert all the time; you tended to get edgy.

"That's your name?"

"Yep. For my sins."

Yukimura raised an eyebrow. "For your sins?"

"I hate the name Kojiroh. Always have, always will," Saeki said, shrugging carelessly as though it didn't actually bother him.

"Ah. Fair enough," Yukimura shrugged.

"What about you? What's your given name?" asked the Vampire. He had an odd look on his face – part amusement, part some sort of morbid fascination, part something else entirely. Yukimura could hazard a guess as to what was on his mind; here they were, a Vampire and a demon hunter, who twenty minutes ago were trying their level best to kill each other, sitting around a fire making civil conversation.

"Does it matter?" he asked, giving Saeki a cool look that told him to drop it.

"No. But I wanna know anyway."

Yukimura huffed quietly. "Hm. Well, sorry, I'm not in the habit of giving my personal name to anyone, let alone a Vampire."

Saeki gave a 'well-I-tried' grin and shut his eyes. That seemed to be the end of the conversation.

Gradually, Yukimura let his gaze drop from his captive to the flickering flames. He watched them swaying and in the far reaches of his mind he thought he could hear distant screams.

Damnit, he really didn't need to be taking a trip down memory lane right now.

"Why can't I kill you?" he shot out curtly, all pretense of amicability gone. "Are you a Vampire?"

Lazily, deliberately contrasting Yukimura's sudden change of mood, Saeki opened dark eyes again. "Of course I am."

"So why doesn't just cutting your throat and stabbing you repeatedly through the heart work?" Sarcasm wasn't Yukimura's style; the question was a genuine one.

Saeki bared his fangs in a laugh. "It's a good question."

"Going to answer it?"

"Hell no! Whaddaya think I am, suicidal?" Saeki snorted.

With a sigh, Yukimura pulled out a small, twisted metal hook from a pocket, holding it between his right finger and thumb. He studied it for a moment, then looked up at Saeki, gratified to see a well hidden but visible look of wariness pass onto his face.

"I've never actually used one of these," he said conversationally, "since most creatures tell me what I want to know pretty quickly. But there's a first time for everything." He gave the Vampire a meaningful look.

"What's it do?" Saeki asked cautiously.

"As far as I understand, you can use it rather like a corkscrew. You push it in and twist," Yukimura demonstrated in thin air, "and a neat cylinder of flesh comes out. I think. Like I said, I've never actually used it." He really, really didn't want to either, but there was no way in hell he was going to tell the Vampire that. Desperate times called for desperate measures, as they say.

Saeki looked as though he suspected Yukimura was bluffing, but after glancing between the hook and the demon hunter's cool blue eyes, he decided that he didn't really want to risk it.

"Hell, and you call _me_ a monster," Saeki muttered sarcastically. He settled back against the tree trunk again. "Well, if you wanna know that badly, some random demon fixed it so that I don't die as easily as other Vamps. That's all it is. I don't actually know how to kill me either, come to think of it…"

"Which random demon?" asked Yukimura.

"I dunno. I didn't get his name," shrugged Saeki.

Yukimura gave him a mildly incredulous look. "A demon that you don't even know the name of gave you a gift like that?"

"Hey, I'm not asking you to believe me. You're the one who threatened to torture me unless I told you," said Saeki.

"You can't be telling the truth," said Yukimura firmly. "Why would a demon do that?"

"Pft. Don't ask me to fathom the mind of a demon; that's meant to be your job, isn't it? Maybe he just… liked me." Saeki licked his lips suggestively, eyes flashing gold momentarily before returning to brown.

Getting up, Yukimura rounded the fire and stood over the bound Vampire. "You have one more chance to tell the truth before I start using this," he said, holding up the hook, voice starting to show a note of annoyance. He fiercely hated demons, yes, but Vampires… they were different. He didn't actually mind them quite so much. Usually because they were a lot easier to kill and he didn't have to put up with them any longer than it took to get a blade into them. This Vampire, however, had something about him that just made him bristle, figuratively speaking, and it was made worse by the fact that he was apparently under some sort of demonic protection from permanent harm.

Yukimura started getting _really_ annoyed when Saeki just gave a short, mocking laugh. "Fucking 'ell, you really haven't done this before, have you?" he said condescendingly. "You've got it all wrong. You don't give me one more chance; you hurt me, and _then_ you give me one more chance. Shall I demonstrate?" His eyes flashed gold.

With a startled yell, Yukimura was bowled backwards and onto the ground by a grinning, snarling mass of sheer strength. His arms were pinned before he even had a chance to unsheath the dagger on his forearm.

Snickering, the Vampire straddled his stomach to keep him down. The net lay in several pieces behind them; Saeki had somehow managed to cut through it without Yukimura even noticing.

"Well now, that's better," he purred as Yukimura stopped struggling, preserving his energy. "You don't seem as efficient as they say. Although, you're a lot better than the demon hunters I've met before... Hah. Still just human."

Yukimura suddenly yanked his arms out from where they were pinned by Saeki's knees, but the Vampire had been expecting it and just grabbed his wrists, pinning them next to Yukimura's head instead. He looked amused.

"It'll be a pity to kill you, really. I bet your blood'll taste nice though… If-" he broke off abruptly, gaze shifting sharply to Yukimura's right wrist. He pulled his hand down a little, and stared. Then his eyes whipped back up to Yukimura's, glowing a menacing gold.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper. His thumb flicked at the charm around Yukimura's wrist. "Tell me!" he snarled furiously.

"It's a charm," Yukimura began.

"I know that! Where the fuck did you get it!" When Yukimura didn't answer straight away, Saeki growled loudly and kicked behind him, hooking a foot around Yukimura's left leg and twisting, applying pressure just below his knee. Yukimura made a small noise of pain in the back of his throat, trying to twist away.

"Tell me!"

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Sandy: Aaaaand cut! Take five people, that's a wrap.

I always wanted to say that xDD

Hope you liked it :) Saeki doesn't get nearly enough fanlove, just like the Rikkai boys. Three cheers for Sae-chan! Come on people, cheer with me!

Please leave a review. I love long, rambly reviews, but even just a coupla words would be fantasmic. Ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism rock my world :D

Oh, and questions will never be ignored either. Unless they're along the lines of, "Who's Saeki?" in which case I will just point you to the anime download site. :)

Jaa, ne. Next chapter coming soon (hopefully…)!


	3. In which Yukimura is Not a Happy Bunny

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **AU, kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai both hinted and clear, blood, violence, some language… Check back here each chapter!

**Summary: **Yukimura Seiichi doesn't know just how far he'll have to go in the name of demon hunter when he comes across a sadistic Vampire shrouded in enigma.

-.-; … God, I suck at summaries.

**Author's notes: **Many thanks to **Yoshikochan**, **Merissala**, **Darkdemoncat** and of course my patched kitten for their reviews:) You guys are fantasmic.

Dedicated to **Linc**, who deserves every drop of love. :)

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Yukimura's mind raced. Why was Saeki so worked up about it?

"It's a binding charm," he said through gritted teeth, wincing in pain. "For a powerful demon that I trapped three years ago."

"What was his name?" demanded Saeki.

"Um…" Yukimura struggled to remember.

There was a resounding _crack_ as the Vampire effortlessly broke the demon hunter's leg. Yukimura yelled out in agony, white hot pain racing up his entire body and making his vision dance.

"What was his name?" Saeki repeated fiercely, fangs bared. He waited for a few moments until Yukimura got his breathing back under control, then repeated the question again.

"Begins with an 'F'…" Yukimura panted. Then his memory clicked. "Oh, Fuji! Fuji Syuusuke," he said.

Saeki stared at Yukimura stonily for a second, then abruptly got up off him, retreating back about a metre. "I wouldn't try it," he growled quietly as Yukimura immediately sat up and drew his dagger. "I'm not going to underestimate you so badly again, and there's no way in hell you can beat me with a broken leg."

Yukimura slowly lowered the dagger, but didn't put it away. His pupils were dilated with pain, but he didn't examine his leg. Prioritise, was his personal motto.

"I guess that means something to you?" he asked, watching Saeki carefully. Sure enough, the Vampire looked away a bit soon.

"Maybe," he said guardedly.

"Ah." The pain was starting to fade a bit now as his body's natural defenses against it came in. Yukimura was extremely grateful for that.

"This demon… You trapped him?"

Yukimura nodded. "Yes."

"How?"

"Like I said, this," Yukimura shook his wrist slightly, "is a binding charm. I used it to absorb part of his soul then locked him in a shadow dimension with it. They're useful little things," he added dryly.

Saeki managed to choke down his obvious outrage. "I thought demons didn't _have_ souls?" he gritted out.

"That's just Vampires. Most demons have souls. They just don't know it."

Angrily, Saeki stared at the wooden charm. "Can you set him free?" he asked.

'Ah,' Yukimura thought. 'The hundred _bu_(1) question.'

"Not really," he said carefully, considering how to phrase his words. He was worryingly vulnerable right now, and caution was well in order. "Well, I could, but it'd be difficult, not to mention time-consuming."

"How difficult?"

"Mm, well…" Yukimura's voice sounded strained, which was hardly surprising. Most people would be half incoherent with pain.

"How difficult?" Saeki repeated warningly.

"It depends. I'd need a lot of things, equipment…"

"Then do it. I'll help you get whatever you need." The look on Saeki's face was one of fierce determination. Yukimura couldn't hold back his curiousity any longer. He wouldn't call himself an expert on Vampire psychology by any means, but when a Vampire went out of its way to help a creature other than themselves… Especially a demon. The two races hated each other, generally speaking. Humans were a source of easy food and entertainment, so it wouldn't be correct to say that Vampires hated them, but demons… No, something was definitely odd here.

"What does this demon mean to you?" Yukimura asked. "Do you know him?" Stupid question; surely Saeki knew him. But Yukimura couldn't think of a different way to ask.

Predictably, Saeki bared his fangs angrily and snapped, "It's none of your business."

Yukimura decided to let it drop for the moment. Slowly, painfully, he reached over to the side and pulled over a fallen branch. It was a bit too skinny to be really useful as a splint for his leg, but it was the only one in reach. He stripped down the twigs and leaves with his dagger and, biting his teeth together, he straightened his broken leg and tied it to the makeshift splint. It hurt like hell and Yukimura wanted to bite his lip just to have some other small pain to distract his mind from the bigger one. But he knew that if he wasn't careful he might draw blood from his lip by mistake, and he wasn't sure of the chances that a hungry vampire wouldn't just follow the bloodlust regardless of whether or not it needed him to free a demon acquaintance.

"I'll meet you here at noon tomorrow, then," Yukimura said when he'd finished. Unsteadily, he stood up, wincing as he tested his weight on his throbbing leg.

Saeki narrowed his eyes. "Oh no you don't. You're staying in that little village on the forest outskirts, right? I'm coming with you. You're not gonna get a chance to run away. No way in hell."

Yukimura glanced pointedly down at his leg. "The thought never crossed my mind," he said dryly.

"Huh, I'll bet. You could probably still ride a horse without too much difficulty though. I'm coming with you."

"If you think that I'm going to take you into a village full of innocent people then you've got another think coming," Yukimura replied firmly with a cool stare.

"I'm not gonna bite any of them."

Mildly amused despite himself, Yukimura said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I believe you now."

Saeki bared his fangs again, but the effect was lost on the demon hunter, who'd managed to regain almost all of his cold dignity. "I promise, I won't bite any of them. I can't, if you have to know. So there." Saeki's glare dared Yukimura to say any more on the subject. Yukimura _liked_ dares.

"Why not? Side effect of the immortality blessing the demon gave you?" he asked.

"No. Drop it."

"Does the village have some sort of protection on it?"

"No. I mean it, drop it!"

Yukimura hesitated, but decided to press on. "What sort of thing would stop you from biting humans? You were going to bite _me_ forty minutes ago."

Saeki looked as though he was tempted to break some more bones, but then he sighed crossly and said, "Persistant bastard, aren't you? If you really have to know, I can't…" Yukimura was intrigued to see a look of embarrassment. "Blood… makes me sick." The human stared and the Vampire glowered at the ground.

"… I'm sorry?" Yukimura said finally. "Blood makes you _sick_?"

"Yeah," Saeki muttered shortly.

Yukimura couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Sick? Honest to the gods sick?"

"I said yes already!" Saeki snarled. "I get a splitting migraine every time I feed. I think I'm allergic to it, or something..." The last bit was mumbled, and it took Yukimura a few seconds to work out what Saeki had said. When he had, his good leg gave way and he collapsed.

"Stop laughing!" Furious and highly embarrassed, Saeki advanced upon the helpless demon hunter, grabbing the front of his shirt and giving him a shake. "Stop laughing, damnit!"

"Y-you're allergic to blood!" Yukimura choked out through his mirth. "You're… allergic…" Words became impossible.

"Shut up!" But no matter how hard Saeki shook him, Yukimura couldn't stop laughing. Disgusted, the Vampire got up, glowering down at him. "I'll break your other leg if you don't shut up," he warned.

"Then I can't free the demon," Yukimura managed to point out through his laughter.

Angry, Saeki stamped down on the broken leg. Hard.

_That_ made him stop laughing. Yukimura released a string of swearwords in fast succession, teeth drawing blood from his lip as he bit down. He didn't bother to lick it away as soon as he tasted it, now that he knew the Vampire couldn't feed without becoming ill. He missed the hungry look Saeki gave the droplet of crimson as he was too busy digging his nails into his hand in agony.

"Don't laugh at me again," Saeki growled. "You don't need both your legs."

In even more pain than before, Yukimura didn't answer. Giving a sigh of mock-patience, Saeki bent down and picked him up as though he weighed nothing more than a rabbit. "Tut, tut. Weren't you ever taught to respect your elders? I've got at least a good sixty years on you. It's your own fault that your leg got broken," he admonished, sounding in a much better mood. Completely ignoring Yukimura's protests and struggles, the Vampire proceeded to carry him all the way back to the village.

--------------------------

"Ah, of course. It's fortunate that you were passing by, Saeki-san. And what of the Vampire?"

"Not to worry," Saeki said smoothly. "He won't be bothering your village."

"That's wonderful news. I offer you my heartfelt thanks, on behalf on my entire village."

Saeki smiled sweetly. "No thanks necessary. All in a day's work for a demon hunter."

"Quite, quite." The elder watched approvingly as Saeki carried an unconscious Yukimura upstairs to the room he'd been staying in. He shook his head admiringly. "Now there," he said to the sleepy grey cat lounging on the table, "is a fine example of humanity's finest. I can't imagine ever being able to kill a Vampire whilst simultaneously protecting a fellow injured demon hunter. Quite remarkable."

Dropping Yukimura unceromoniously on the bed, Saeki smirked in dark amusement at the elder's words. He turned and shut the door before leisurely going through the bag by the side of the bed. There wasn't really anything of particular interest in there, apart from a single silver-plated ring, crudely made. Saeki could only surmise that it had some sort of sentimental value and he rolled his eyes. Humans were so superficial. They always seemed to need a physical object to remind them of their loved ones, or past events in their lives. It was pathetic. Vampires had no such need for these things; the memories in their hearts were all that was necessary.

Saeki was startled when he heard Yukimura stir, but he recovered quickly. "Of course," he mused aloud. "You're not just any ordinary human. I keep forgetting."

Slowly, Yukimura opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of time, then sat up with a slight wince and tentatively felt the back of his head.

"You didn't have to knock me out," he said coldly.

"No," Saeki agreed, "but it was fun."

"Of course it was." Yukimura's face had suddenly gone back to being cold and expressionless. Saeki couldn't tell what he was thinking anymore, and it unnerved him a little.

"Pass me that bag," Yukimura requested. Saeki glanced down and picked it up, holding it out to him. Yukimura took it and rummaged around, taking out a small red bag. Opening it, he took out a single dried leaf of something, putting it into his mouth and chewing slowly. Then he reached over and flicked something on the side of a lantern. It flickered into life and illumianted the room.

"What's that?" Saeki asked, nodding at the red bag that Yukimura was putting away.

"Painkiller."

"Well, yeah, I kinda guessed that." When Yukimura didn't answer, Saeki shrugged to himself and sat down on the side of the bed. Yukimura instantly tensed.

"Get off."

Surprised, Saeki tilted his head to the side. "Calm down, little tiger. I'm just resting my feet."

"You can rest them elsewhere. Get off."

"Well, what's gotten _your_ trousers in a twist?" Saeki drawled. Yeesh, this guy was totally unstable. One minute he was laughing hysterically and generally being, well, normally human, and then you knock him on the head and when he wakes up he's back to being Mr. Professional Demon Hunter.

"What do you think? You're dangerous, and I'm currently quite vulnerable. I want you as far away as the room'll allow, thank you very much," Yukimura said curtly. It hurt his pride a little to say as much, but he'd already figured out that straight answers were the quickest way as far as Saeki was concerned.

Saeki licked his lips unconsciously, grinning when he inadvertantly made Yukimura tense even more. "I guess you are, huh?"

In a flash, Yukimura had drawn his dagger. Saeki raised an eyebrow. "You already know that doesn't work," he began, but then he stopped still.

"Get off, or I'll destroy the charm," Yukimura said. He was holding the point of the dagger directly above the centre of the wooden pendant. "Then your demon will disappear into eternity."

"You wouldn't dare," breathed Saeki. For the first time, Yukimura saw fear in his eyes, and he knew that he'd won.

"Want to test that theory?"

There was a pregnant silence, then Saeki stood and backed off, stopping when his back hit a wall. "Don't destroy it," he said, sounding subdued.

Yukimura relaxed a little and he removed the dagger tip. Destroying the charm would mean that he'd have no value to Saeki whatsoever. He knew that if he destroyed the charm he'd be sealing his death, but he'd been banking on the fact that killing him wouldn't go far in making Saeki feel better.

"Right, listen. This is how it's going to work," he said assertively, not giving Saeki a chance to butt in. "I'm freeing this demon because if I want to keep sane and relatively healthy, I don't have a choice. But you _need_ me to free the demon. That means you listen to me. I'll listen to you as well, since you have some things humans don't, but only if I think the situation calls for it."

"So, what, you want me to be your partner in justice?"

Yukimura considered this. "Yes, in a way," he agreed.

A scowl descended on Saeki's face again. His mood changes were faster than most Vampires Yukimura had come across. He wasn't sure whether to see that as a good, bad, or totally irrelevant thing. "Fuck that," said Saeki rudely. "I'm not human anymore, and I'm not going to help you kill other non-humans."

"I'm not asking you to help. Just to not intefere," said Yukimura.

It was obvious that Saeki didn't like the idea at all. Yukimura waited patiently as the Vampire weighed his options, gently rubbing his thigh to get rid of the uncomfortable numbness that was a side effect of the painkiller he'd taken.

Eventually, Saeki seemed to have come to a decision. "Fine," he grated out. "For as long as it takes to free Syuu… the demon."

"Good. Then we're agreed."

"Only just," Saeki muttered.

Yukimura ignored this. "Good night, then. Do you need to sleep?"

"Not tonight, no."

"You may as well anyway."

Saeki shook his head. "I'll just stay awake. Watch the nightlife, or something."

"Don't leave the room, then."

Saeki's teeth ground together audibly at being given orders, but he nodded stiffly and settled himself on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"We start tomorrow, right?" he said as Yukimura managed to manouver his broken leg into a position he could sleep in.

"Wake me at first light."

Yukimura flicked off the lantern and plunged the room into darkness. Even though his eyes were closed, he could _feel_ brown eyes boring into him. With a quiet sigh, he resigned himself to a restless night's sleep.

-------------------------------------

(1) Right, ok. I wanted this set in… I dunno, in the past. Like an Alternative Universe Feudal Japan, or something. So for currency I used the currency of Feudal Japan. One _bu_ is about £100 (approx. $188).

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Sandy: Mwa ha. The adventure begins! Or some such corny line :D

If you liked it, then please, please review! As always, questions, ideas, suggestions, etc are more than welcome. :) Especially if I've made some sort of stupid error that needs sorting out xD

See you in a week!


	4. Hidden Agendas

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **AU, kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai both hinted and clear, blood, violence, some language… Check back here each chapter!

**Chapter summary: **More about Saeki's recent past is explained.

-.-; … Yep, still raising the bar on sucky summaries.

**Author's notes: **Gigantic hugs and muffins to **Yoshiko-chan**, **Darkdemoncat** and my patched kitty for their lovely reviews. n.n

Dedicated to **Linc**, who deserves every drop of love. :)

------------------------------

"Oi, Blue."

Before his body could work out what was going on, Yukimura's mind had been jolted from sleep. And before his body could stick in some rational thought, his mind was already commanding his muscles automatically. His senses screamed, 'Vampire!' and, half-asleep, Yukimura was helpless to stop himself.

"OWOWYOUMOTHERFUCKINGIDIOT!"

Velvet blue opened to see a hand outstretched, holding a dagger into Saeki's chest. "Oh…" he said faintly, surprised.

Snarling, Saeki took a step backwards, pulling himself off the blade with a slightly sickening sound. "You fucking idiot! You nearly hit my heart!"

Yukimura blinked, then resheathed his dagger with a click. "Ah, it's just you."

"JUST me?! What if it was a human? They'd be dead! Not that I care, but you would, I'm sure," Saeki muttered angrily.

"If you were a human, my instincts wouldn't have made me stab you," Yukimura pointed out, the sentence broken up by a yawn halfway.

Glaring, Saeki retreated back to the wall, one hand clutching at the wound. "This isn't going to heal over," he said. "I can't regenerate unless I die first."

"Not a problem."

"Hey, I didn't…!"

Yawning again, Yukimura stepped over the prone Vampire and retrieved his throwing knife. He casually wiped the blade off and started to pack his bags. He should be done by the time Saeki recovered.

--------------------------------------

"Can you not stay for a few more days, perhaps?" the elder asked hopefully. "We'd be more than happy to have you here. It's brought such a positive influence on the village, what with the dark creatures roaming the world currently…"

"Thank you, but no," Yukimura said politely, but firmly. "I wish you luck though. If your village is ever in dire need, then I left a Call Seal in your son's room. All you have to do is stand within a few metres of it and say my name. That'll alert me and I'll try and come here as soon as I can."

"That's very kind of you," said the elder, nodding. "We'll remember that."

"Farewell, then," said Yukimura, giving a small bow then turning to leave.

Saeki was waiting for him at the gate, a resentful scowl on his face. He didn't speak, just falling into step about a metre from Yukimura's side. Obviously he was bearing a grudge about being so casually killed. Although Yukimura suspected that Saeki was actually more angry with himself for dropping his guard than with him.

The silence suited Yukimura just fine, and the two walked for the entire day, Saeki always a metre away. They were following a small road leading west. Yukimura was leading them to the place he'd sealed this demon friend of Saeki's – he hadn't said as much before, but he didn't actually know _how_ to release him. The only way to find out was to go there and try and puzzle it out. There would be a way, there always was; it was just a matter of thinking about it.

Sunset came surprisingly quickly. They'd made a lot of progress; Yukimura estimated that they'd arrive sometime tomorrow evening, if all went well.

Stopping suddenly, Yukimura set down his shoulder bag, rotating his shoulder a few times to ease the slight stiffness. The bag wasn't exactly light, after all.

Saeki gave him an inquisitive look.

"We'll stop here for tonight," Yukimura said, sitting himself gracefully down on the earth. They were behind a large tree, and from here the road sloped downwards. It would be easy to spot anything dangerous from that side, at least.

"Tired out?" Saeki said coolly. Yukimura hadn't expected the Vampire's unfriendly mood to go on for so long, but he shrugged with the barest hint of a smile.

"No. But we've made plenty of progress today and we'll need plenty of rest tonight. I thought I felt some sort of dark energy about a mile back – we might be attacked. Best to be rested just in case. And," Yukimura added, "there's the added factor of my leg. I've been walking on it all day and, frankly, it hurts like hell. I'd like to rest it for twelve hours before we continue."

Saeki gave a slow nod, expression suddenly hard to read. Yukimura didn't try, knowing it would be pointless. "You should rest too," he said instead. "That regenerating thing must be tiring for your body, hmm?"

Taken aback, Saeki stared. Then, grudgingly, he nodded again. "I guess," he said unwillingly. "Didn't think you'd notice."

Yukimura just smiled and started to build up a fire, reaching for twigs and moss without getting up.

Saeki made no move to help, leaning against a tree and feigning disinterest. He watched Yukimura finally get the fire going with a pair of flint stones, and then pushed easily away from the tree. "I'll go get a rabbit, or something," he said.

"Thanks," Yukimura answered, but Saeki had already vanished into the bushes.

-------------------------

There were no rabbits. There were no birds. There were no animals of any kind, except for a few sleeping owls. There were still plenty of insects as well, but that really was it.

Eyes narrowed, Saeki stood up from his hiding place and ran a hand through his hair. "Geez…" he exhaled, annoyed. "Guess Blue was right."

"Right about what? The dark energy?"

Saeki exhaled slowly. "Obviously," he said without turning around.

"Hm, well. He's got good senses for a human. Very good." A figure dropped from a tree. A dark grin spread over Saeki's face, and he finally turned around slowly.

"Long time no see," he said softly. "Hikaru."

"Ah, well, it's Davide now, actually."

Saeki's fangs gleamed. "Davide? That's a stupid name. Amane Davide?"

"Amane Hikaru. Still. But I'm now _called_ Davide."

It took Saeki a brief second to work out the logic of this, but he managed. He snorted and shrugged carelesly. "Yeah, well, I'm still calling you Hikaru."

"Thought you might." Hikaru also showed fangs. "So, Sae-san, what miscarriage of fortune finds you in company with a demon hunter, of all people? Haven't developed a liking for humans now, have you?"

Saeki's eyes flashed and turned golden. Hikaru's already were.

"Don't make me laugh," he growled. "You think I'm with him because I _want_ to be? I thought you knew me better."

"I haven't seen you in thirteen years," said Hikaru. "For all I know, you might have changed."

"Never."

"So what's the story?"

Saeki's mouth closed. He straightened and looked at the red-haired Vampire opposite him, debating how much to tell him. Hikaru must have sensed this.

"You know I won't tell anyone," he said. "I might not have seen you in well over a decade, Sae-san, but we _are_ family. Have some faith, bro."

The slightly shorter Vampire snorted. "Faith, right. I've got buckets of that." He watched Hikaru with wary eyes. They'd started a family together – they were going to create a clan. They were going to be the most powerful Vampire clan in the entire world. Even greater than the warring clans of Vaima Hyoutei and Rikkai si Turse. But life has a habit of getting in the way, even when you don't technically have one, and so it had been with them.

"I'm sure." Hikaru waited for Saeki's story, letting his lips close over his fangs in a typical Vampiric sign of patience.

"Do you remember Syuusuke?" Saeki asked slowly.

Hikaru's eyes narrowed in thought. "Demon, right? Brown hair, blue eyes, fetish for blood?"

Saeki snorted again. "_All_ demons have a fetish for blood. But, yeah, that's him."

"What about him?"

"This demon hunter… he's the one behind Syuusuke's disappearance thirteen years ago."

"Ah. _Ah_… so that's why you left. We did wonder. The twins were devastated. They thought it was because of them."

Saeki's eyes receded to brown for a split second, but apart from that he showed no reaction. "It _was_ because of them, partly. But mainly, yeah, that's why I left. Been looking for him."

"I'm guessing he's alive, then?"

"Well, yes," Saeki said in a condescending tone of voice. "Otherwise Yu – the demon hunter'd be a thousand bloody pieces by now."

Hikaru laughed unpleasantly. "I'll bet. Sae-san the Shredder," he said. Saeki bared his fangs again in acknowledgement of his old nickname. "The demon hunter didn't look older than nineteen to me. You're saying he defeated Syuusuke-kun thirteen years ago?"

Saeki shook his head, still wearing a condescending expression. "No. He trapped him three years ago with some kind of binding charm. Syuusuke disappeared shortly after getting a run of recurring nightmares involving a demon hunter with blue-violet eyes. He said they were prophetic dreams, and the demon hunter was currently a small child. I'm guessing he went to try and find him before the boy grew up."

"Tsk, and he didn't even say goodbye."

"He's a free spirit, I told you," said Saeki. "I thought he'd be back within the year, but then I got that message from whatshisface, Mimiki or something…"

"Mizuki."

"That, yeah, I got his message saying that Syuusuke had said to come look for him. So yeah."

Hikaru nodded slowly. "Well, it's good to know you haven't turned soft."

"Mm. We'd have hated to kill you."

Saeki was startled, although he barely showed it. "Heh," he exhaled. "Still a master of stealth, Kurobane."

"Naturally. Someone has to be in our group of loudmouths." Kurobane swung himself easily down from the tree he'd been hiding in and gave Saeki a brief bow. "It's good to see you again," he said with a small grin. "Rokkaku hasn't been the same without you."

"Ha, well, of course," Saeki chuckled, looking pleased. "How is everyone?"

"Surviving, you know. We're down in numbers, mind; the twins left about five years ago."

Saeki looked taken aback. "What? They left?"

Kurobane nodded. "Pity. That Ryou was a brilliant strategist."

"Huh," Saeki snorted. "Vampires don't need strategies. We're practically invincible."

"No, _you're_ practically invincible, if not completely so. We're a good bit easier to kill. Ryou's strategies made everything so much easier. We managed to wipe out two budding clans, you know."

With a shrug, Saeki leaned against the tree behind him, arms folded. "Hmm, knew that boy was smart."

"Pretty, too," Hikaru chipped in. "Both of them."

"Well, yeah, they're identical twins," Kurobane snorted. Hikaru shrugged and grinned.

"Back to the matter of your little demon hunter," he said slowly.

"He's not mine."

"Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. How good is he?"

"Good. Very good. He killed me eight… wait, nine times before he worked out that I don't stay corpsy. I couldn't do a thing."

Kurobane looked impressed. Hikaru just raised an eyebrow and said, "With that broken leg of his?"

"Oh, no, I broke it afterwards. When I saw the charm he had around his wrist. It was in the shape of Syuusuke's curse mark, so I got curious."

"Hell. He's pretty damn good then."

"Yeah, but he's young. Not as experienced as he thinks he is. He's never tortured anyone before; he tried to with me, but got it all wrong."

Hikaru looked thoughtful. Both Vampires watched him, waiting for his thoughts to be revealed. Eventually, he said, "He'd make a good Vampire."

"Fuck, yeah. But demon hunters are immune to Change. The proper ones are, anyway, and this guy's definitely the genuine deal," said Saeki.

"Ah, but there's a loophole," said Kurobane, eyes gleaming gold.

Saeki looked interested. "There is? What?"

Both his old friends grinned and bared their fangs. "Of all the cliches, wouldn't you know it, love changes everything," Hikaru laughed. "If he starts to want, if his willpower to cary out his job weakens because of a certain someone, then he's vulnerable. True Love's such a lovely thing, truely." He smirked and tensed, as though waiting for a kick, but it never came.

"Do you see what we're saying?" Kurobane said.

"You want me to seduce him and Turn him."

"Exactly. If anyone can do it, you can. You managed to seduce both the Kisarazu twins at once, after all, and that takes some doing."

Saeki considered this for a moment. Then he looked up, eyes flashing intense gold, and his face took on a feral look.

"Leave it to me," he growled. "It'll be done by the time Syuusuke's free."

Kurobane and Hikaru both copied the wild look. "We'd love to stay and watch," Kurobane said, "but the hunter might get suspicious if he keeps feeling the same energy following you. So we wish you good luck. Come find us when all this is over. We'll be a proper family again."

"Definitely. We'll find the twins too, and bring them home."

Hikaru nodded. "We'll start looking for them."

"Jaa." With that, the two were gone, though it took a while for Saeki to be unable to sense them.

He exhaled slowly, eyes shut, then opened them again. He looked as dangerous as he had when he was breaking Yukimura's leg.

"Let's see how human you really are under your little masks and walls," he murmured darkly. "Oh, this'll be fun." He stayed where he was a split second longer, listening to the waking owls around him, before suddenly leaping forward and heading back to the camp.

"Couldn't find any-" he started, but he cut himself off and pulled to a halt. Yukimura was lying about a metre away from the flickering flames, which were almost out, and his eyes were closed in sleep. He looked young, surprisingly childish… _vulnerable_. Perfect.

Saeki built the fire back up, watching it regain life, and sat down by Yukimura's head. He reached out a hand and rested it on the dark hair, petting it thoughtfully, fingering the strands.

"Sleep well, Blue," he whispered, the words carrying a menacing undercurrent. "The game starts tomorrow."

------------------------------

Sandy: Mwa ha ha. My poor darling 'Mura. x3

If you liked it, then please take a few seconds of your life to let me know:) Same goes for if you didn't like it. As ever, questions, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome and loved. ;D Especially the suggestions part. What do you guys want to see happen? I've got about twenty different endings to this… Obviously all leading to my main story (gah, this was only meant to be five chapters long at the most:o LOL Looks like we're in for the long haul, pets), but yeah… Let me know!

See you!

P.S. **KiriharaAkaya**: I just got your PM this morning and it's a fabbity idea. I'm not ignoring you; might take a bit of time, love, but I promise I'll get it done ;)


	5. The Game is On

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **AU, kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai both hinted and clear, blood, violence, some language… Check back here each chapter!

**Chapter summary: **

**Author's notes: **America-sized hugs and muffins to **Yoshiko-chan**, **Darkdemoncat, Merissala, Miyosuke, Liar-just-a-liar** and my patched kitty for their lovely reviews. n.n

Dedicated to **Linc**, who deserves every drop of love. :)

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"You seem like you're in a good mood this morning," Yukimura commented. His leg was holding up well; so far, there was minimal pain and he'd only started to limp within the last half hour or so. Considering they'd been walking for four hours, that was damn good going.

Saeki gave a small shrug in answer to Yukimura's words, hands in pockets as he walked alongside the demon hunter. "Do I?"

"Yes. I take it I'm forgiven for killing you?"

Amused, Saeki snorted. "Now that's not a sentence you hear every day."

Yukimura had to smile a little in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess you're forgiven. Just try not to do it again, huh? It hurts, you know."

"I'll try. It was your own fault for trying to wake me up like that."

Saeki shrugged again. "Alright. I'll be more careful next time."

They kept walking. Yukimura watched Saeki carefully out of his peripheral vision. He couldn't help but feel that something was slightly… off somehow.

"You're also much more amiable," he said finally, conveying his suspicions. "What brought this on?"

"Nothing," the Vampire said elusively. "I think I'm just getting used to having a human around that I can't really kill. Don't be so paranoid; it's not becoming."

"I'll try," Yukimura said dryly.

They didn't say anything more for another twenty minutes. Yukimura spent the entire time watching Saeki subtly out of one eye, but he could see nothing more to make him suspicious; Saeki seemed to be keeping his expression carefully blank of anything except curiosity and interest in their surroundings.

The forest had long ago thinned out, giving way to the beginnings of the mountain range they would have to cross. A thin river snaked alongside the road; from time to time Saeki would dart over to grab a small sip of it, then hurry back to Yukimura's side.

"Your limp's getting pretty bad."

The comment took Yukimura by surprise, and he glanced down at his leg. "Oh, yeah… it's hurting a little. Not badly though. It doesn't matter."

"We may as well take a break," Saeki suggested. "I'm starving hungry anyway. I'm gonna go find someone to eat."

"No," Yukimura said instantly, turning cold eyes on the Vampire. "You are not going to kill anyone."

"Who said kill?" Saeki countered. "I don't have to kill to feed, just knock them out."

"I thought Vampires couldn't stop themselves once they bit?"

"Common misconception," said Saeki airily, waving a hand. "It's just a matter of willpower. Something that I happen to have in bundles." Seeing Yukimura's raised eyebrows, he added, "I promise I won't kill them, ok? If I don't feed, I'm gonna get seriously cranky. You don't want that, believe me."

Yukimura decided not to show that he would be very grateful for a rest. "Alright, fine. I'll check once you come back, so don't you dare kill anyone or I'll destroy the charm."

"Yeesh," Saeki said, quirking an eyebrow. "Overreacting, much?" He hastily raised his hands pacifyingly as Yukimura glared. "Joking, joking. I'll see you in an hour or so. Don't go running off now."

"Again, not an option that crosses my mind," sighed Yukimura, dropping his bag on the ground as carefully as he could be bothered to. Saeki gave a mock salute then loped speedily off down the road, turning left and heading into the woods. Yukimura suppressed the guilt that welled up and gingerly sat down.

He leant back against the solitary tree, gazing up into its branches, eyes inscrutable.

This species of tree grew in abundance back home. He'd heard it called several different names on his travels, but he still thought the name he'd known it by as a child was the best. Heaven's Leaf tree, it was called there. Each little leaf, by some incredible quirk of nature, resembled a miniature angel.

He could remember playing with his little sister Yuriko under these trees. He'd grab a handful of leaves and throw them in her hair, laughing when she squealed and giggled and pretended that the leaves were crows attacking her head.

Yuriko… she'd be sixteen now. The same age he'd been when he left. If she'd grown any prettier than she'd been at fourteen, Yukimura mentally bet that she was the most beautiful girl in the village.

He'd meant to go back. He really had.

Why hadn't he? How could two and a half years have gone by without him going back?

The demon hunter closed his eyes, and in his mind he was Seiichi again, climbing down from a tree to show his mother a nest he'd found. Running into the house to wake his father from his nap so that they could go swimming.

Screaming in terror as their flesh burned and blackened and made them cry for death to free them.

Yukimura's eyes opened.

That was why. He couldn't go back and see the charred remains of the place he'd been born. Couldn't remind himself that he'd been too small, too weak to pull free of the ropes and rescue his parents. Couldn't face the pathetic gratitude in the eyes of his aunt and uncle that at least he, Seiichi, had survived.

Except he hadn't. As far as Yukimura was concerned, Seiichi had died with his innocence.

A wave of drowsiness suddenly overtook him. It had sapped his energy to walk on his broken leg; much more than he'd realised. His body was aching for sleep.

Eyelids closed over cool blue and Yukimura allowed himself to relax. There was no-one around for miles. Besides, he was a light sleeper. If someone came by and tried to do him harm, he'd be awake in a flash.

He yawned once, and then sank peacefully into a light doze.

------------------------------

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Fuck. Ow."

Saeki was doubled over, clutching at his head in agony. It felt like his brain had grown spikes and was trying to rip its way out of his skull.

"Bloody. Hell," he ground out through gritted teeth. "Ask someone the definition of irony and they'll show you a picture of me. Fuck." Then words became impossible through the red haze and he collapsed on his side, curling up into a ball.

Maybe he shouldn't have drunk quite so much. It had been nearly a week since he'd last fed, though. He'd forgotten how much it bloody _hurt_ once the nausea gave up.

The pain continued for another fifteen minutes; it felt like a lifetime to the writhing Vampire. But gradually it ebbed, and the Vampiric euphoria of the fresh blood inside him took over.

Slowly, Saeki uncurled, taking a moment to gather his breath lying on his back. Then he stood, faster than a human would believe, and stretched out his arms and shoulders.

"That's _better_," he purred to himself, eyes half lidded as he rode the high coursing through him. He brushed dead leaves out of his hair and clothes with a small grimace until he felt presentable again.

He knew that his eyes were still gold, but it couldn't be helped. He wouldn't be able to change them back to brown for at least another half hour, when the high receded.

It took Saeki five minutes to run at top speed all the way back to where he'd left Yukimura. He slowed to a walk when the demon hunter came into sight. He exhaled loudly and grinned to himself. He loved not having to breathe; it made running so much easier.

Then he raised his eyebrows in surprise, a look of incredibility coming over his face. Yukimura was asleep _again_. How the hell had this boy survived as long as he had?

Well, Saeki wasn't going to make the mistake of waking him up again. He was quite happy to stay alive and unhurt for the time being, thank you.

Although, now that he came to think of it… This would be a good time to conduct a little experiment of a sort.

Silently, Saeki stalked over until he was directly in front of Yukimura. Then, slowly, he leant forward and placed a firm kiss on the sleeping boy's lips.

He kept his eyes open, watching as eyelids fluttered, then lifted to reveal sleepy, confused blue. Then he speedily jumped back, just in time; a blade slashed through where his chest had been a split second before.

Laughing, the Vampire sat down heavily on the ground, grinning hugely at the expression on Yukimura's face.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" the demon hunter demanded, brushing his hand across his lips. He could faintly taste blood, and he grimaced in disgust.

"A better way of waking you up," Saeki answered, smirking gleefully at him.

Yukimura glared, pushing himself up and standing over Saeki. "Don't you _dare_ do that again, Vampire."

"Aww, I'm sorry," Saeki purred mockingly. "Did I steal your first kiss?"

"Yes," Yukimura snapped, to both their surprise. He blinked once, then shook his head fiercely as though to shake off the whole incident. "Do that again," he growled, "and…"

"And what?" Heh, if he'd known Yukimura could be this entertaining, Saeki would have done this last night. "You'll destroy the charm? You'll stab me?"

Yukimura gritted his teeth, knowing that there wasn't really any viable threat he could make, and knowing that Saeki knew it, and knew Yukimura knew he knew.

In a thoroughly bad mood now, Yukimura slung his bag over his shoulder again and started to walk, taking a mouthful of water from his waterskin and rinsing the taste of blood from his mouth.

Saeki watched in amusement. He wanted to make some sort of comment on how blood didn't taste _that_ bad, but he decided to leave it until Yukimura's temper had diminished a bit.

It didn't take that long to do so, in fact. Yukimura's cool-headedness took over after a scant ten minutes or so, until the fire had been smothered again under icy water.

Saeki judged that he'd let the silence go on long enough. Time to have another crack at the barriers. Hopefully they'd be a lot weaker than normal right now.

"Was that really your first kiss?" he asked, sounding casual as can be.

"Yes. Now shut up."

"Blimey. Heh. Feel kind of sorry for you, having your first kiss stolen by a Vampire. Ironic or what?"

"Saeki, shut up." But Saeki pressed on, sensing little more than resigned annoyance from Yukimura.

"It's much better when you're actually awake, you know. I might show you sometime."

Ah, _that_ got a reaction.

"Saeki Kojiroh," Saeki winced at the use of his given name, "stop irritating me. I'm not in the mood to be teased at all."

"Are you ever?"

"No. But especially not now."

"Who says I'm teasing you?" Saeki wondered out loud, giving Yukimura an innocent smile. "Maybe I think you're the most attractive person I've seen in ten years."

"And maybe I'm reconsidering freeing this demon of yours," Yukimura retorted.

"Maybe I don't care. Maybe I've decided I like you better."

"Then maybe I'll destroy the charm right now."

"Maybe you should." Gold-tinged brown and exasperated blue clashed, until finally Yukimura forced his eyes closed and took a deep breath, pushing the masks back into place and soothing the cracks. Try as Saeki might, he couldn't get another word out of the demon hunter until they made camp that night.

Well, Saeki had always appreciated a challenge.

------------------------------

Sandy: Ehe he… it's short, yes. Because I split it into two so that I could post this today, since I missed last Sunday. 6.6;; I promise I'll have a long chapter this Sunday!

Please review and make my day ;p I'd love your opinions, suggestions, queries, criticism, corrections… etc. :)

Jaa, ne!


	6. Silent Ocean

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **AU, kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai/yaoi both hinted and clear, blood, violence, some language… Check back here each chapter!

**Chapter summary: **Yukimura and Saeki leave the world of the living…

**Author's notes: **My happy, happy thanks to **Yoshiko-chan**, **Darkdemoncat, Merissala, Miyosuke, KiriharaAkaya, Wingless Crimson **and my patched kitty for their lovely reviews.

It's been… a while. –Sweatdrops- Eh heh… Well, I did say that I was putting this on hiatus until after the new year… even if it was at the end of a random drabblething… n.n;;

Dedicated to **Linc**, who deserves every drop of love. :)

This chapter is also dedicated to **Roaming Phantom.** It's thanks to her loveliness that I managed to get this chapter out today. :)

------------------------------

It had taken longer than he'd thought, but Yukimura and Saeki had finally arrived.

The cave was cold, much colder than outside, and Yukimura envied Saeki for not being able to feel it. He'd trapped the demon right in the back of the cave, which was why they were there in the coldest possible part, looking at the tiny curse mark on the wall.

"Well?" Saeki prompted impatiently.

"Mm…" Yukimura ran a finger over the mark on the stone wall. A shiver ran through his body, and he turned to Saeki. "Build up a fire," he said. The Vampire hurried to comply, loping out of the cave to get firewood. Yukimura hid a smirk of amusement and resumed the task of trying to figure this little puzzle out.

He took off the binding charm and held it to the curse mark, not expecting anything to happen, but not leaving any stone unturned. Nothing happened, and he shrugged to himself.

How did you free a demon whose soul had been ripped into two parts and then been banished to a shadow dimension? Yukimura had no idea whatsoever. He'd been thinking about it most of the time here, and had come up blank.

Logically speaking, all you had to do was to reunite the demon with its missing fragment of soul. But of course, that wasn't really possible unless…

Yukimura could have smacked himself. After a second thought, he did. Hard. He'd been thinking about it all this time, and in the end all he'd had to do was take his very first thoughts just one step further.

Now, how to actually go about it was the question…

When Saeki returned with an armful of wood, Yukimura set up a fire as quickly as he could, craving the warmth. "I worked it out," he said as he managed to light the wood.

"Worked it out?" Saeki raised an eyebrow. "You mean you didn't know how to do it until just now? You said you did!"

Oh, yeah. Oops. "Call it a little white lie. I know now, so all's well that ends well," Yukimura said, rubbing his hands together in front of the fire.

Saeki shrugged. "I guess. So how?"

"We have to open the shadow dimension gate again, go in, find him and then give him the binding charm," Yukimura explained, as though he'd suggested a walk in a forest. Saeki gave him a slightly pouty look.

"And how do we do that?"

"Ah, well…" Yukimura almost looked embarrassed. "I haven't _quite_ worked that one out yet. But it shouldn't be too hard."

"What about if you used my blood?" Saeki suggested after a moment's thought. "I heard that there was some kind of ritual that uses a Vampire or a demon's blood to make a tiny crack in the dimensions."

Yukimura nodded. "There is, but we can't use it."

The Vampire frowned. "Why not?"

"Because it opens up a random dimension. It could be anything. Granted, the ones that can be opened using that ritual are limited to about thirty, but that's a lot to be picked from at random chance." Yukimura shook his head. "Besides, I won't be able to tell which one Fuji Syuusuke is trapped in."

"I can tell," Saeki said instantly. "I'll be able to sense him if the right dimension opens. He's got a very… unique feel to him. I'll be able to tell right away."

Yukimura considered this. "You're likely to run out of blood before we find the right one," he said thoughtfully, "but I guess if you run out then I can just kill you and start over, right?"

To his mild surprise, Saeki agreed immediately. "Definitely. So what're we waiting for? Let's do it already!"

Well, there wasn't really another option, was there? Nodding, Yukimura sat down by the fire and searched his bag for his set of necromancy bells. He found them and took them out, unwrapping them carefully and setting the smallest and the largest onto their tripods so that they could ring freely.

"What're they for?" Saeki asked, curious despite his impatience.

"They'll stop anything coming out of the dimension gates," Yukimura explained. He motioned for Saeki to sit closer and took out his dagger, holding the edge to Saeki's willing hand. "The gate won't be open very long," he explained, "so as soon as you find the right one then you have to say so."

"Got it," Saeki said, nodding.

"Alright." Reaching over with his free hand, Yukimura gently flicked both the bells. They started to ring unassisted. It was almost a frightening sound; no, it wasn't the sound itself that was frightening, it was the atmosphere the bells gave off as they rang. It didn't help that each chime echoed around the cave, making each one last longer and meshing the sounds into one continuous metallic whine.

Saeki gritted his teeth as Yukimura made a deep cut in his hand, using a finger to scoop up the dead blood and quickly draw a set of three symbols on the cold ground; Gate, and then his own name, Yukimura.

The three symbols sunk into the stone and with a sudden flash a silent hole, roughly the size of a large dog, opened up in the floor. Nothing could be seen in it except a darkness so pure that 'black' didn't even begin to describe it.

"No," Saeki said over the noise of the tiny bells. "That's not it."

Almost as soon as he'd finished speaking, the hole was gone. Yukimura and Saeki both looked surprised.

"… That was faster than I thought," Yukimura said slowly. "Change of plan. When you sense the right one, just jump straight in. I'll follow."

Saeki eyed him suspiciously. "And what's to stop you from leaving me in there? That'd solve your problems nicely, wouldn't it?"

Damn. The thought hadn't actually occurred to him, but now that he thought about it, it would have been a very good idea.

"Fine, when we have the right one, push me in," Yukimura said finally. "Then follow. Alright?"

Saeki nodded, looking satisfied. "Much better."

Yukimura made another cut in Saeki's hand and repeated the process. And again. And again, and again, and again for the next two hours. Saeki's arms and legs were covered in cuts, and he looked exhausted, paler than usual and half slumped over.

Sighing in frustration as Saeki dismissed the opening as the wrong one again, Yukimura sat back and ran his non-bloody hand through his hair. "We'll take a break," he said, stilling the bells. Both the Vampire and the hunter breathed a sigh of relief as the noise stopped.

"Better kill me and start again when I wake up," Saeki said tiredly. "I don't think I have much more blood left."

"Alright." Yukimura leaned forward and stabbed into Saeki's heart, automatically catching him as he collapsed sideways. He laid him down on his back and took a drink of water from one of the waterskins, washing his hand and his dagger with the last few drops.

The fire was dimming, and Yukimura built it back up to a blaze with the wood that had been left over.

The cave was warm now, close to cosy. The smoke was escaping through natural cracks in the ceiling, so Yukimura wasn't worried about the oxygen running out. If he blurred his eyes just slightly so that he couldn't see the wounds on Saeki, he could almost pretend that he was human, asleep, the two of them camping out for fun or maybe travelling the world together.

Yukimura quietly shook his head at himself. It was a nice little daydream, but so far removed from reality that it was laughable.

Still… if Saeki had been human, Yukimura felt that they could have become friends.

------------------------------

"This one!!" Saeki yelled, nerves tingling. Yukimura didn't need telling twice. He swung his legs into the hole and let go, trusting Fate. Saeki followed straight after, tugging Yukimura's bag and bells in with him. Honestly – sometimes, Yukimura really didn't seem like the professional he was.

They landed side by side, Yukimura managing to stay upright, Saeki landing awkwardly and stumbling onto his side.

"Careful," Yukimura said anxiously as Saeki narrowly avoided crushing the bells. They'd stopped ringing, and Yukimura hurried over to take his things, wrapping up the bells and putting them back with the others.

"Careful yourself," grumbled Saeki, dusting himself off with one hand. "What the hell were you thinking, leaving your bag behind? Idiot."

Yukimura flushed, hefting his bag onto his shoulder. It _had_ been a stupid mistake.

"Thanks," he muttered reluctantly. "For grabbing them."

"Yeah, well. Be more careful."

"We should be quick," Yukimura said, glancing around him. "The longer we stay in here, the harder it'll be to get back out."

"You do know how to get out, right?"

Yukimura's flush darkened. "Yes! I'm not _that_ incompetent."

"Could've fooled me," Saeki muttered. "So what's our time limit?"

"About… I'd say three days," Yukimura estimated.

"Seventy-two hours. Right. Do we have to be back here?"

"No," Yukimura shook his head. "Anywhere. It doesn't matter. But we have to be leaving by then."

"Alright." They set off. They both wanted to go faster than a walk, but Yukimura's leg prevented that from happening.

The shadow dimension that they'd arrived in was unlike anything Yukimura had ever seen before. It seemed to consist solely of one long beach, going on and on without interruption into the horizon. The ocean seemed just that, an ocean, until Yukimura realised that there weren't any waves. Probably because there was no moon – in fact, there wasn't a sun either, or stars, or clouds. The whole sky was a blank space, the colour of twilight. Yukimura got the impression that it never changed.

The side of the beach not cut off by the ocean was dominated by towering cliffs, surely nearly a mile high; a dizzying sight, an acrophobe's worst nightmare.

"Can you feel anything nearby?" Yukimura asked suddenly. They'd been walking for about twenty minutes in watchful silence, but now he felt he had to break it.

Saeki shook his head. "No. I don't think there's anything alive nearby."

"What about Fuji?"

"I don't know. I mean, he's definitely in here; I just don't know where, or how far away."

Yukimura half-shrugged. "Fair enough."

The sand was dry and slid under Yukimura's feet with every step. He stoically ignored the ache in his muscles that started up and got stronger and stronger as they walked. He tried not to favour his uninjured leg, but he couldn't help it after an hour or so. Which in turn only made it ache worse until Yukimura was forced to favour his broken leg for some relief, which sent throbs of pain up his body. Damn Saeki to hell and back, Yukimura thought with gritted teeth. Damn _all_ Vampires to hell and back. Except, not back, because then they'd all be as irritating as Saeki.

"Look, gimme that."

Yukimura almost fell over as Saeki suddenly pulled at his bag. Instinctively, he clung on and managed to keep his balance.

"What're you doing?" he demanded coldly.

"Carrying your bag. It's slowing us down. Clock's ticking here, Blue. Just gimme the damn bag."

Blue and brown clashed again. And again, Yukimura was the first to grudgingly give in.

"Fine," he sighed, handing it over and trying not to feel to relieved at how much lighter he felt. "But if you damage anything in there, I swear I'll cut off your hand."

"Right, whatever. Just try not to fall over, 'k?"

"I'll try my best."

------------------------------

"What the _fuck_?" Saeki said in disbelief, staring at the sand. "What the hell?! No fuckin' way!"

They'd arrived right back where they'd started. There were the dents where they'd fallen, and their footprints stretching into the distance, and the tiny droplets of brown-red where Saeki's arm had hit.

"But we've been going in a straight line!" Saeki ranted furiously. "We've only been walking for a few hours! If we'd been going in a circle we'd have _realised_!"

Just as frustrated as Saeki, Yukimura sat down on the sand with a muffled thud, tired out by the sand. He exhaled slowly, keeping his calm as Saeki vented his frustration on the sand, kicking it into the water.

"Well," he said resignedly, "we _are_ in a shadow dimension. It just means we'll have to find a way over the cliffs."

Saeki slumped down beside him, dropping Yukimura's bag. "How?" he asked, obviously trying to keep his temper in check.

"I had a look at the cliffs as we were walking round, in case we had to climb them. There was a section that looked climbeable about two miles before we got back here."

"Climbeable as in climbeable with or without a broken leg?"

Yukimura ran a hand through his hair. "Well…"

"Thought so. Well, fine, I'll carry you," Saeki sighed.

Yukimura's pride protested, but his logic firmly told it to shut up. There didn't seem to be another way around the problem, pardoning the pun.

"What time is it in the world of the living?" Saeki asked. "Must be nearly eight or so."

"Around that, yeah," Yukimura nodded. He opened up his bag, taking out some small apples and dried fish. "Want some?"

"No. Wouldn't mind a bite of you, but something tells me you wouldn't like that so much."

"Well done."

Saeki watched Yukimura eat patiently. The demon hunter told him not to, but Saeki just grinned and continued.

"Cold?" he asked as Yukimura suddenly shivered slightly.

"A bit. I think it's getting colder for some reason."

"Yeah?" Saeki shrugged. "Can't say I've noticed."

"No… Well, it might just be my imagination."

Grin widening just a touch, Saeki leant in suggestively. "Want me to warm you up?" he purred, his earlier frustration completely vanished.

"Saeki, shut up," Yukimura said tiredly.

"So shut me up."

"I thought you had a thing for this demon of yours?" Yukimura challenged, subconsciously leaning backwards, away from Saeki.

He smirked. "Vampires believe in polygamy."

"Back _off_." Yukimura held the dagger's point at Saeki's throat, eyes flashing warningly.

In answer, Saeki's turned gold. "You don't know what you're turning away. You need to relax a bit, Blue. It can't be healthy to be so uptight. You're eighteen years old, and you only just had your first kiss? Crying shame."

"I'm perfectly happy for it to stay that way," Yukimura snapped.

"You sure?" Slowly, deliberately, Saeki leant in closer, letting the sharp blade cut into his own throat.

"I'm _sure_." Yukimura drove the dagger in the rest of the way, kicking Saeki's temporarily lifeless corpse away from him with a grimace. He wiped off his dagger and put it back.

Thoroughly unnerved, the young demon hunter stared in confusion at the Vampire. He briefly debated escaping this dimension while he was unable to stop him, but he didn't. Instead, he waited for Saeki to 'wake up'.

A woman's voice rung through his memory, repeating words Yukimura hadn't thought about in over a year. He stared unseeingly out over the motionless ocean, replaying them over and over.

He should leave now. He really should.

No. No, this was a test. This was a test of his capabilities as a demon hunter. When he'd freed Saeki's demon and they were back in the world of the living, he'd kill them both. And then he'd be able to pass off the woman's words as just that, words.

If life thought it was going to tie him to some stupid prophecy, it was dead wrong.

------------------------------

Sandy: There. As long as the last two chapters put together. :)

Please leave a review -nodnod- questions, suggestions, comments, queries, etc are always welcome. Reviews completely make life worth living! xDD lol

Until next time!


	7. In which Fuji is Translucent

**Disclaimer: **If I owned it, it would be even weirder than it already is. Bless it. So, no, I don't own it. ;.;

**Rating: **Argh. Shall we say about a PG-13 for now? Might (probably will) change, so please check the rating each chapter. Don't wanna be sued by some angry parent now, do I? No.

**Warnings: **AU, kinda dark, bit angsty, shounen-ai/yaoi both hinted and clear, blood, violence, some language… Check back here each chapter!

**Chapter summary: **Introducing the astral projection of, yes, Saeki's favourite demon.

**Author's notes: **Ten thousand thanks to **Yoshiko-chan **(Forgive my daftness, but… whaddaya mean by the technical parts? n.n;; eh heh…)**, Merissala, KiriharaAkaya, Roaming Phantom, Sesshyro **and my patched kitty for their ego-stroking reviews.

Dedicated to **Linc**, who deserves every drop of love. :)

------------------------------

"I am a _Vampire_," Saeki growled, "and I should _not_ be this fucking _tired_!"

"Again, I blame this dimension," Yukimura sighed, letting go of Saeki's shoulders and sitting down on the small ledge, holding his bag carefully and trying not to look down. "That and the fact that you've died three times in the last day and you haven't slept at all."

Saeki considered this and grudgingly nodded. "That's probably it. Stupid regeneration."

"That's just what I thought when we first met," said Yukimura dryly. Saeki gave a semi-amused huff and settled back into the cold rock, staring out at the unchanging, dead sky.

Yukimura risked a glance downwards, and then up. "Well, we're over halfway," he said, estimating. "We should be at the top in… maybe just over an hour."

"Good." Saeki got up and flexed his fingers determinedly. "Get on. I wanna finish climbing these damn cliffs as soon as possible."

"You should rest first," Yukimura cautioned, and Saeki levelled a cold glare at him.

"Get on."

Yukimura rolled his eyes at Saeki's stubbornness but did so, shifting his broken leg so that it wouldn't bang against Saeki's side. "If you fall off, don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered, more to himself than the Vampire.

"If we fall then I don't think you'll be in a position to tell me anything," Saeki grunted, starting the climb.

"… True."

------------------------------

It got colder the higher they went. Yukimura was shivering by the time they reached the top, wishing his leg wasn't broken so that he could exercise properly and warm himself up.

The top of the cliffs was just as bizarre as the bottom. Instead of an ocean, thick black swamps lay to the side of a slim roadway. The tip of something could be seen on the horizon, but Yukimura had absolutely no idea what it was. Apart from that, the swamps stretched on forever without a break.

"Yeah…" Yukimura turned from the swamps as the vampire spoke. "I can feel it better up here. He's definitely somewhere nearby." Saeki pointed a finger down the roadway. "If we keep following this, we should reach him soon."

"That's good. Let's hope it doesn't take us in a circle like the beach did." Yukimura tested his weight gingerly on his leg, then hoisted his bag back onto his shoulder. "Do you want to rest, or should we start walking?"

Saeki shook his head. "I'm good; let's go."

"Ok." On they went.

It was strange, but Yukimura found that there was something intangible that he really liked about this place. It was creepy as hell, but there was something… Well, maybe it was just because it was peaceful.

'Yeah; peaceful cos there's no-one in it,' Yukimura's mind pointed out. That was true… maybe it wasn't because it was peaceful then. But whatever it was, the demon hunter found that he didn't mind being here as much as he thought he would, or should.

But as they walked further and further, Yukimura started to feel uncomfortable. It was the same feeling he'd gotten while he and Saeki had been on their way here; a restless, watchful energy that was following them. Except this one was different.

He watched Saeki out of the corner of his eye. The Vampire seemed to sense something too. He was getting a slightly edgy look in his eye, and his steps were getting very gradually faster. There was something desperate pulsing inside him instead of a heartbeat. Yukimura subtly kept his hand on his dagger, making sure he could reach his swords if he had to. The primal side of the Vampire was starting to come out in Saeki, and Yukimura knew that he had to be careful.

Suddenly, the energy intensified. Nausea rose in Yukimura and he had to stop, gritting his teeth. Saeki pulled to a halt as well, eyes darting from side to side. "You feel that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Yukimura ground out. "What is it?"

His vision suddenly blurred, and Yukimura scrubbed furiously at his eyes. When he looked up again, Saeki was staring wide-eyed at…

Yukimura did a double-take. "Bloody hell," he exclaimed; he didn't mean to, but his mouth went on regardless.

The translucent projection of the demon smiled faux-amiably at him.

"How nice to see you again," he said. "How's your chest?"

"My chest… well, it healed. Obviously." Oh yeah… Yukimura had nearly managed to forget about that. Damnit. Now he was probably going to start getting nightmares about that again.

"Chest?" Saeki asked slowly, still looking as though his brain had decided to go on temporary vacation.

"The last time we met, I did that whole swallows-ripping-out-of-chest thing. I'm quite impressed that you survived that. Well done." Gods, Yukimura remembered the polite sarcasm too now. See, now, this was why he bloody _hated_ demons…

"… Syuusuke?" Saeki ventured tentatively. "Is that you?"

The demon turned to the Vampire, and this time the little smile reached the sapphiric eyes. "Sae. It's been far too long, wouldn't you say?"

"…" Saeki took a tiny step forward, looking more human now than he ever had before. "It's really you…"

Syuusuke laughed, and Yukimura hated the happy sound. He tightened his grip on his dagger and, with the other hand, unwound the binding charm from around his wrist and tossed it to Saeki. "Give it to him," he said curtly.

"I'm sorry, but that's not going to work," Fuji said. "This is an astral projection of myself. My body is further down the road."

"Of course it is," Yukimura muttered resignedly. "Never that easy."

"Follow me," said the demon, beckoning. The projection started to walk down the road and Saeki hurried to walk next to it, eyes never leaving the calm, pale face.

"Thirteen years suddenly seems a lot longer," he said quietly. "I missed you, Syuusuke. Killing people just isn't the same without you."

"How sweet," Yukimura said sarcastically. He was completely ignored.

"Try spending three tied to a rock," Fuji answered. "I think I must have used up every boredom cure in the Universe. I knew you'd find me eventually… I just thought it'd take a lot longer. Believe me when I say I'm grateful."

"Of course," nodded Saeki. "I left Rokkaku and went looking for you as soon as Mizuki said that I should."

"Oh, yes… that Mizuki." His tone of voice left Yukimura in no doubt that 'that Mizuki' wasn't very high on his Christmas card list.

Saeki snorted with laughter. "Well, you've gotta give him credit for that. If he hadn't sent that message then I might not have found you for… well, a long, long time."

"True. I suppose. So tell me, how's everyone doing?"

"Well, like I said, I haven't been around for a long time. But I met up with Bane-san and Hikaru… recently. Hikaru's calling himself Davide now, for some strange reason. Who knows why."

"Sorry to change the subject, but I assume Yukimura-san is helping you to free me?" Fuji sent the demon hunter a questioning glance over his shoulder.

"Not out of my own free will, I assure you," Yukimura shot back. "And you'll both be dead anyway as soon as we get out of here."

Fuji chose to ignore everything Yukimura said. "That's very kind of you. Although it's really only fair when you consider that you put me in here in the first place." Something in the demon's voice promised retribution. But very politely.

"Three years can't be that long for a demon," Yukimura said unsympathetically. "You must be… well, how old are you?"

"Three hundred and eighty-one. And just because we're near immortal doesn't mean in any way that time passes faster for us. Three years stuck in a lifeless dimension is three years stuck in a lifeless dimension."

Yukimura didn't reply, fighting down the steadily increasing nausea. Saeki seemed to be basking in the tainted energy that Fuji's astral projection was emitting, but Yukimura definitely wasn't. Probably one of the downsides to being a demon hunter.

The two non-humans suddenly pulled to a halt. Yukimura did likewise, frowning.

"What?" he asked.

"We're resting here," Fuji said, the astral projection sitting down on the ground. "There's a very inconvenient energy barrier just in front of us. We'll have to wait until it goes down."

"How long will that take?" Saeki asked, sitting down next to him.

"Saa… about six hours, I should think. It doesn't matter; I can cope for another six hours. Especially now that I have people to talk to."

Tiredly, Yukimura settled himself on the ground as well. "If I spend that six hours sleeping, am I liable to wake up minus the front of my chest?" he asked dryly.

"Not at all. I can't do the Tsubame Gaeshi right now anyway. Again, thank the energy barrier and the lack of sunlight. My powers have been steadily draining; I really need a good dose of the sun when we get out."

"… You get your energy from the sun?"

Fuji gave him a patronising look. "Why do you think I attacked you in broad daylight?"

"I just… well, demon, sunlight… the two aren't exactly synonymous."

"No, I don't imagine they are for a human. Get some sleep, Yukimura-san."

Not trusting either two of his current company, but desperately needing rest, Yukimura lay down using his bag as a pillow. He yawned once and shut his eyes, sinking swiftly into sleep.

Fuji and Saeki watched in silence for a few minutes until they were sure that Yukimura was genuinely asleep.

"Are you gonna kill him after this?" Saeki asked.

Fuji looked thoughtful. "No," he said slowly, "I don't think I will. It'd be more fun to let him live and suffer. Something big is going to happen soon, Sae. I'm not sure what, but it'll involve Vaima Hyoutei. Yukimura-san is going to absolutely hate himself this time next year. I'd like to see that."

Saeki bared his fangs in a grin. "Gods, I missed you."

The demon laughed. "There are no gods anymore, Sae-chan. I killed them."

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Sandy: I love Syuusuke so much. I really, really do. xDD He's so evil. Well, not as evil as I'm writing him in this fic, but you know what I mean. n.n;;

Please leave a review to let me know what you thought! The longer the better, but even a few words would be fantasmic.

Until next time!


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